Westboro Baptist threatens to protest local soldier's funeral

By
Staff
Report

POSTED:August 1, 2013 1:30 p.m.

Westboro Baptist Church, a Topeka, Kan., church known for its extreme ideologies, especially those against gay people, is threatening to protest Sunday in Ludowici at the funeral of Sgt. Stefan M. Smith.

According to a news release posted on the church’s website, protesters will deliver a “message to be preached in respectful, lawful proximity to the memorial of Sgt. Stefan M. Smith.”

Smith, 24, was killed in action July 23 in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 4thInfantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rdInfantry Division. His wife, Kristi Smith, and children, Dewey, Denver and Gracie Smith, live in Ludowici.